Scotty Barnes, the ideal leader and teammate for the Raptors

I Scottie Barnes he has strong support in Toronto, that’s his coach. Darko Rajaković spends his time from week to week listing the qualities of his best player. Evidence last week, February 8, after the win against the Pacers.

“He’s the Defensive Player of the Year. He’s an All-Star. One day he’ll be the Finals MVP. One day he’ll be the regular season MVP. I’m saying it now. You can already mark the date of my announcement », he insisted Canadiens coach. “He’s still far from the level he’ll be at when he’s 27, 28. He’s improving week by week and the further he improves, the easier my job gets.”

A few days later, Darko Rajaković continues his explanation “It’s not easy to become a ‘franchise player’ at the age of 21 or 22 and you have to learn to take control on the floor, talk to the media, support your teammates”. Moreover, he adds, “What makes him very, very special is that Scotty knows he’s not perfect, he’s going to make mistakes. But he recognizes his mistakes.”.

“He is a vocal leader and when actions match words, people will start to listen”

Still, listening to his coach and teammates, he’s not far from perfect. He is already very collective, because he is one of the All-Stars of the season with one of the lowest “usage rates”, that is, the percentage of possession that a player uses (23%) in the attack. In comparison, the main stars are above 30%, even 35%.

“There are so many situations in games where sometimes I call the system for him and he says, no, no, no and I think of Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett or Immanuel Quickley”, raconte Darko Rajaković. “There are times when he doesn’t care about the ball. He only thinks about things that will work well for the team.”

Then, he sets the tone and example for his teammates. “We know that he will play hard, that he will defend and that the group will follow. When he is concentrated, when he has a lot of energy, the group will follow him.” says Raptors GM Bobby Webster. “On any team, he’s going to help you win. He does things that allow him to win,” adds Brandon Ingram. “He is a vocal leader and when the actions match the words, people will start to listen.”

Gareth Temple also points out that, as the leader who shows the way, Scotty Barnes does the violence for the team. “One of the things he’s doing well this year is understanding how much his energy affects the team, positively and negatively. He knows he has to stay balanced. It’s not in his nature to be positive when bad things happen and continue to be aggressive when good things happen. But he’s made progress,” concludes the veteran.

How to read statistics? MJ = matches played; Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / attempt 3 points; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive jump; Tot = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; Points = Points.